1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to toothbrushes used for the cleaning of teeth and gums.
2. Background Information
Cleaning of teeth is very important because unclean teeth are primarily responsible for the most common disease encountered in human and animal medicine--gingivitis and periodontal disease (or periodontitis). Periodontal disease is a term used to describe diseases of the tooth attachment apparatus, the gums, tooth roots, bone surrounding the teeth, and the periodontal ligament tissue joining tooth to bone. Symptoms range from gum inflammation (gingivitis), formation of plaque (food and bacteria), and bad breath (halitosis), to serious accumulation of tartar (mineralized plaque), bleeding, receded or eroded gums, loose or infected teeth, and eventual loss of teeth. Periodontal disease is also the major cause of bad breath in human beings, dogs, and cats. If untreated, periodontal disease often leads to severe damage of major organ systems, and can shorten the life of the afflicted human being or animal. Thus, teeth cleaning is essential to good health.
When teeth are cleaned by a dentist or dental hygienist, generally instruments such as scalers and curettes are used initially to clean the crown and subgingival (under the gums) portions of the tooth. After this cleaning has been performed, a prophylaxis polishing cup, or "prophy cup", mounted on a low-speed dental handpiece is employed. The prophy cup is typically made of a soft rubber-like material and contains at least one central cavity portion that is loaded with pumice paste or another similar abrasive. The prophy cup is then held against the surface of a tooth while being mechanically rotated, e.g., by means of the dental handpiece. This procedure forces the pumice paste to abrade across the surface of the tooth, thereby polishing the tooth, leaving as smooth a surface as possible. A smooth tooth surface helps reduce future plaque and calculus (tartar) build up. Plaque builds up within hours of tooth brushing and the smoother the surface of the tooth, the longer it takes for plaque to adhere to the tooth.
Normal dental hygiene is then continued outside of the dental office and includes regular brushing of the teeth with a toothbrush. This brushing typically occurs one to three times a day. Before brushing, toothpaste is placed on top of the bristles on the toothbrush. During brushing, the bristles of the toothbrush act to scrub the teeth. The use of toothbrushes for dental hygiene has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,001, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Toothbrushes also commonly utilize relatively flat handles. After brushing the teeth on one side of a mouth, the toothbrush user then typically uses the thumb and forefinger to rotate the toothbrush in the hand in preparation for brushing the teeth on the other side of the mouth. The relatively flat sides of toothbrush handles can make it uncomfortable to hold a toothbrush. Flat toothbrush handles also can make it uncomfortable to rotate the toothbrush in the hand as one prepares to switch from brushing one side of the mouth to the other side. Users often, instead of rotating the toothbrush in their hands, pronate or supinate the wrist of the hand, and elbow of the arm, holding the toothbrush as they switch from brushing one side of the mouth to the other side. This alternating pronation and supination can be uncomfortable.
The above described conventional dental hygiene program also suffers from a number of other major disadvantages. During the brushing process, the toothbrush bristles generally do not follow the contours of teeth as closely as the soft, rubber-like prophy cup. Therefore, the teeth are not left with a surface that is as smooth as desired and the detrimental early onset of periodontal disease is encouraged.
Further, during the tooth brushing process, upon contact of the toothpaste covered bristles with teeth, the toothpaste is spread into the mouth and between the toothbrush bristles, and does not concentrate its effect directly on the teeth in contact with the bristles. Therefore, the toothpaste does not act as effectively as it could.
Also, often times conventional toothbrushes are designed with relatively thick bristles which can cause problems with sensitive gums and teeth. Since gingivitis and periodontal disease often starts in the area below the gum line, the cleaning of this area is extremely important.
Therefore, a need was perceived for a toothbrush that would clean teeth and gums, and in the process leave the teeth with a smoother surface than conventional toothbrushes, make more effective use of toothpaste, and improve the cleaning of the area below the gum line, as well as be comfortable to hold and manipulate.